Former-Chelsea striker Demba Ba has criticised Jose Mourinho for not giving him a proper chance at Stamford Bridge.
Ba, who ended his dismal career in London this Summer by joining Turkish side Besiktas, has claimed that Mourinho never gave him a real chance to prove himself at the club due to not being a star-name.
Mourinho continued to play Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o ahead of Ba, and despite his crucial goal in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain, the Senegal international couldn’t keep his place in the first-team.
Since securing his move to Besiktas, Ba has looked back at his time at Chelsea, and he has blamed Mourinho for not giving him a deserved chance.
‘Sometimes when you are at a club with a lot of big stars, the name counts for more than the statistics. Unfortunately, it was like that in my case,’ said the 29-year-old Senegal striker. ‘But I am happy I moved from Newcastle to Chelsea and achieved what I did. I have lots of friends there. Eden Hazard is one of my best friends, I am close to Branislav Ivanovic, too. All my wishes are for them to win the league.’
Ba also revealed just how close he was to joining Arsenal last Summer on loan, before Mourinho cancelled the deal due to The Gunners signing Mesut Ozil.
‘I always said the move to Arsenal was close. I thought the deal was done and I would just go and do the medical, but it went another way,’ he added. ‘Jose has said why it didn’t happen. He was honest, he just didn’t want to give them a striker who could score goals, especially with the arrival of Ozil. Now I am playing Arsenal in such a big match. It’s crazy but I’ve no regret on everything that happened.’
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
